Real English 48-showrooming

Have you ever heard of the word "showrooming"?

Well, if not, then you should listen up.  "Showrooming" is the new buzz word.

Please refer to the definition I found on Wikipedia:

"Electronic items are among those frequently examined by customers in a retail store prior to their online purchase.

Showrooming is when a customer visits a brick and mortar retail location to touch and feel a product and then goes online or to a low-service big-box retailer to purchase the product at a lower price.[1] Online stores often offer lower prices than brick and mortar stores because they do not have the overhead cost.[2] Showrooming can be costly to the retailers, not only in the loss of the sale, but also due to damage caused to the store's floor samples of a product.[3]

Showrooming was said to be behind Target’s decision to discontinue carrying the Kindle.[2]

Combatting showrooming

Many retailers have tried to compete with showroomers by slashing their own prices. Independent businesses, however, are advised to counter showrooming by adding value via included services and other tactics.[4]

Some major retailers, such as Target, are attempting to combat showrooming by selling products exclusive to their stores. Walmart is allowing customers to avoid the shipping charges of online purchases by picking up the items in the stores.[5] "

Have you ever done this?  I have never bought or even tried to buy anything online (I am very behind the times, but that is besides the point), so I haven't.  However, I bet that many of you have.

Last week in America, on November 23rd-the day after Thanksgiving, it was Black Friday.  One of the headlines I saw on money.cnn.com was;  "Black Friday shopping hits a new record"

Do you know what Black Friday is?  If not, ask me in class and I will explain it.  (FYI, I wrote about it in 'November 2009' on the blog...Just click!!)  And since it was Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year in America, many shoppers did showrooming.

To change the subject, the temperatures dropped recently and I am thinking about getting a new winter jacket.  Maybe I will think about it for a long time...I often do that.  It takes me forever to buy things...

When winter comes, I always dream of jumping on a place and going to Hawaii for a quick getaway!

Good times!!

After work on Thursday, I met up with a bunch of friends/students at Edobori Blues(=EB).  It was a late start, around 10pm, because everyone did overtime and finished work late (except for Mr. M who finished work at 4pm).  EB is a bar/restaurant which is in Higobashi, about a 10-minute walk from the classroom.  To be exact, it is in between Honamchi and Kita-Shinchi, one street east of Yotsubashi Street and behind a fairly new and beautiful condominium tower.  I forget the name...Anyway, there was a 7th Year Anniversary Party being held that night at EB, and it was only 1500yen for all-you-can-drink and all-you-can-eat.  On a usual night, EB is quite crowded, but because of this unbelievably cheap price, as you can imagine, that night it was PACKED!!!  Standing room only!!  So we got some chairs and sat at a make-shift table outside.  

In our group there were 9 people including me;

Mr. M, who is triathlete a graphic designer

Ms. K, who is into yoga and presently works for a company which manufactures and sells powder used in diapers

Mr. K(not related to the above Ms. K), who used to be a baseball star at Nishinokyo High School in Nara Prefecture and currently works in sales for a wine importer

Mr. N, who is a former boxer and now works in a real-estate company

Ms. T, who works for a Chinese-run company and lives in that condo across the street and also ran the Kobe Marathon the following Sunday 

Ms. K's colleague

Mr. N's two female drinking buddies

Mr. K's long time gf

Quite a diverse bunch!!

At EB, everyone drank a lot of beer and ate some finger food.  The food wasn't enough to satisfy my big appetite, but it was enough to hold me over.  It was a lot of fun, but because we had to eat outside... it was cold!!  As a result, my hands were numb,  but luckily for the ladies, they had gloves so their hands were toasty!

Around 11:30pm, the intelligent and responsible people left to catch the last train home.  The remaining four people caught a taxi to Kita-Shinchi and went to Dojima-SeiNiku-Ten(=DST).  While we were drinking at EB, I called in advance to reserve 4 seats so we didn't have to wait.  Smart thinking!!

At DST, another guy Mr. Ko (who ran the Osaka Marathon last Sunday with his wife and works in a prestigious restaurant in Kita-Shinchi, and also looks exactly like the catcher for the Tokyo Giants, Mr. Abe.) joined us. I was pretty hungry because I hadn't eaten any real food all night, so I ordered a bunch of food for us.  Mr. N said many times "This is really delicious!!!" , and everyone nodded or said something like "Yeah!! Thanks for introducing this place to us Glenn!", so I think it is pretty safe to say that everyone liked it.  I was glad.

Regarding the topics of conversation, let me fill you in a little.

First, I remember Mr. N telling Ms K about the history of Southern Osaka.  Ms. K is from Kyoto so she doesn't know so much about Osaka.  Mr. N was born and raised in Southern Osaka according to him he knows a lot about Southern Osaka.  He said, and this is a quote, "I am a Southern Osaka Expert!!!"

The next topic's dialogue went something like this:

Ms. K:  Recently I put on a few pounds.  What is a good way to lose weight?

Mr. M:  Why don't you take up swimming?  Or how about join a gym?

Glenn:  Yeah, that's a good idea! I belong to a gym and I work out three times a week.  

Mr: N:  I know Exercise is important!  But if you ask me, only exercise is not enough.  You also have to watch what you eat, and cut down on drinking alcohol.  How often do you drink?

Ms K:  About 5 times a week...

Mr. Ko:  Me too...So, even though I have been training a lot for the marathon, I actually haven't lost any weight...

And we talked on and on and on...until the wee hours of the night, when finally, the most responsible person left in the bunch, ME, said,  "Hey, it's been a blast!!  Really thanks a lot!  I had a great time! But it is getting late (that is an understatement)...so let's call it a night!"

After that, Mr. K ran back to his shop to get umbrellas for all of us because it was raining.  It was very nice of him!  After he gave them to us, he said "Goodbye" and went home.  Then, first we got Ms. K a taxi, and next Mr. N got me a taxi (as he promised to do!) because it is nearly impossible for an American to get a taxi in Kita-Shinchi late at night, and I went home.  I don't know what Mr. M and Mr. N and did after that, but they both contacted me the next day, so I know they got home safely.

Real English 47-big on

Recently, because she doesn't want to catch a cold, my DW is big on gargling and washing her hands with special disinfectant soap.

"big on" means "to really be picky about something" or "to really like something a lot."

"not big on" means "to not like something so much" or "to not be picky, to not care, about something so much"

Other things she is "big on", and "not big on" are the following:

She is real big on sweets, cleaning, and doing the laundry!!  (Just like her mother...)

She isn't too big on cats or smokey restaurants.

As far as I am concerned, bad service is unacceptable so I am real big on customer service.

In general, I am also big on greetings, for example, saying "Good morning" or "Good afternoon" or something like that every time you see someone.

When I am relaxing at home, I am not too big on the sound of the vacuum...

I am also not too big on tardiness or disorganization.

My brother is crazy big on fitness.  And that makes sense, because he is a personal trainer.  On the other hand, he isn't too big on slackers.

When I was a child, my mother was big on education, which I can understand because she is a teacher.

And when I was younger, to be exact when I was twenty-something, she wasn't too big on my shaved head and go-tee.

My father is and has always been big on being honest, and always telling the truth.  However, he isn't too big on Japanese-style pasta with shavings of dried seaweed on top.

What are you "big on"?

What are you "not too big on"?

And to change the subject, I wrote about the below restaurant a few months ago on the blog.  Do you remember?  The ham-cutlet and sliced beef is to die for!!

Real English 46- tweeps

Do you have any tweeps?

I don't.  That's because I am in the minority and don't do twitter.  Neither does my OH.

"Tweeps" are a person's followers on the SNS Twitter.

Do you have a Twitter account? 

 If yes:

What do you like to tweet?

Are you a tweep of someone(=Do you follow someone's tweets)?

If no:

Why not?  

Do you think that you will open a twitter account someday?

If you had a Twitter account, what would you tweet? Whose tweets would you like to follow?

As I said, I don't have a Twitter account.  But I would like to get one someday because I would like to follow some people's Twitter accounts.  The downside is it could be a waste of time.  However, the upside is that it might be interesting and maybe I could learn something...Anyway, I think I have nothing to lose if I get a Twitter account, so what the heck(=why not.)...

For those of you interested in what tourists think about Japan, the below survey is interesting.  You might be surprised to see what foreigners think is overrated?

And I will add my own question.  What's the most underrated place in Japan?

From The Japan Times Online

"What's the most overrated place in Japan?"

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/print/fl20121016vf.html

Thanks for the nice photos e!

Real English 45-  do-or-die

The American Presidential Election is tomorrow, Tuesday November 6th.  The Presidential race is  a tight one, and the candidates are neck-and-neck in the polls.  It looks like it will go down to the wire...That means it is do-or-die time!

If you were an American, who would you vote for?

Have you ever had a "do-or-die moment"?

To change the subject to a lighter topic, it is November, and that means it is "Foliage time"!!

Have you seen the beautiful foliage yet?

If not, do you have any plans to go see the magnificent red, yellow, and orange maple leaves?

Mr. M went to Mt. Norikura in Nagano Prefecture a few weeks ago.  

Have you ever been there?  

I haven't, but after looking at the photos he sent me below, 

Norikura is now on my "Must Go List."

Spontaneity

I like Spontaneity.  I like to be spontaneous, which means I like to do things suddenly, on the spur of a moment, without planning it in advance.  In other words, I like to wing it.  Have you done anything spontaneous recently?  

Ms. e wasn't exactly spontaneous, but I think she was courageous and brave and adventurous when she took a ferry to Kyushu last weekend to see some cool waterfalls.

Tomorrow is a national holiday, Culture Day, which means I am off.  

Hope everyone has a good weekend!!